During the first presidential debate, Donald Trump answered a question about how to heal the country’s racial divide by boasting of his law enforcement endorsements.
“We have endorsements from, I think, almost every police group,” he said, before rephrasing to “a large percentage of them.” Later in the debate, in response to a question about cybersecurity, he boasted again: “I was just endorsed by ICE. They’ve never endorsed anybody before on immigration. I was just endorsed by ICE.”
As is often the case, the candidate’s statements were hyperbolic in the first claim and plain incorrect in the second. U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, a federal agency operating under the Department of Homeland Security, did not, of course, endorse anyone, even though the National ICE Council, the union representing 7,600 of ICE’s 20,000 employees, did endorse Trump. And while the Fraternal Order of Police, the largest police association in the country, as well as some local police unions, also endorsed Trump, that’s hardly every police group in the country.
But Trump did have a point: At a time when law enforcement is perhaps the only issue that divides Americans more than the presidential election itself, a notable number of police and immigration officers are throwing their weight behind his candidacy — at least through their unions and associations.
In addition to the Fraternal Order of Police — which represents some 330,000 members, both active and retired, out of nearly 900,000 police officers nationwide — Trump won the endorsement of the New England Police Benevolent Association. Earlier this week, he also won the support of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen’s Association — a notable endorsement in a city under a federal decree to rein in its police department’s excessive use of force and struggling to restore relationships with black residents after a series of police killings.
On the immigration enforcement front, Trump, who launched his presidential race calling Mexican immigrants “rapists” and “criminals,” earned the support of both the ICE union and the National Border Patrol Council, which represents 16,500 of 21,000 Border Patrol agents. He also earned the endorsement of some high-profile, if controversial, sheriffs — including Joe Arpaio in Arizona, David Clarke in Milwaukee, and several others who have “murky legal histories” and a reputation for racist and anti-immigrant views.
Sheriff Joe Arpaio exits the stage after delivering a speech at the Republican National Convention on July 21, 2016.
Photo: Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post/Getty Images
In a way, these endorsements should hardly surprise. The law enforcement profession has traditionally attracted a more conservative crowd, and Trump has billed himself the “law and order” candidate at a time when the broader public is clamoring for police accountability and oversight. But the fact that these endorsements come at a time when trust in police is at a historic low, and that Trump’s very response to questions on racial tensions was to position himself as the choice of police, reflects just how deeply the country’s fractures run on these issues, and how hard they will be to repair, regardless of the election’s outcome.
“There are some safe generalizations we can make about rank-and-file cops and Border Patrol agents and that’s that they are generally conservative politically, and generally coming from male-dominated cultures — and I think sexism does play a role in this election,” said Norm Stamper, a former chief of the Seattle Police Department and vocal advocate for police reform. “They’re also inclined towards tough talk and promise of action, whether it’s building a wall and kicking people out of the country or embracing a more aggressive stop-and-frisk policy in inner cities.”
Trump’s tough talk seemed to convince the Fraternal Order of Police, who in an endorsement statement marked by three exclamation points called Trump “a leader unafraid to make tough choices.” The group noted that the candidate responded to a questionnaire it had put out — while Clinton didn’t. In his responses, Trump indicated support, among other things, for a controversial federal bill known as the “Blue Lives Matter Act” that aims to expand the definition of hate crime to include law enforcement officers.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to officers while visiting the Manchester Police Department during a shift change on Feb. 4, 2016, in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
But critics, including some within the law enforcement community, say that Trump’s aggressive attitude on law enforcement is informed by flawed understanding of public safety challenges and risks doing more damage than good. Earlier this year, a coalition of police chiefs and prosecutors representing some 30,000 law enforcement professionals published an open letter, addressed to both candidates but responding directly to Trump’s calls for “zero tolerance” law and order. “Though this may sound counterintuitive, we know from our experience as law enforcement officials that over-relying on incarceration does not deter crime,” they wrote. “Too many resources go toward arresting, prosecuting and imprisoning low-level offenders.”
Stamper, the former Seattle police chief, put it more bluntly. “He does not know what he’s talking about, the man does not know police work,” he told The Intercept. “When he, without thinking, without researching, without developing facts, makes these assertions — for example about stop and frisk — not only is he fueling racism, he taps into a really ineffective and unconstitutional police tactic.”
“He makes it up on the fly, and not only is it offensive to professional police officers, it’s damaging to the community-police relationship,” he added, noting that while rank-and-file officers may embrace Trump, few police chiefs would agree, “because they realize how much harm his presidency would cause to public safety and sound community relations.”
Policing — whether the police reform and community-relations building advocated by liberals, or the return to tougher law and order clamored for by conservatives — has been a central issue in this election, propelled to the forefront of the national conversation by the grassroots movement for black lives that grew in response to a seemingly endless number of police killings. But for all the talk about police on the campaign trail, substantial discussion on how to address the crisis this country is facing has been lacking, said Stamper, who wishes candidates debated practical policies to end the war on drugs, set national operating standards to bring some conformity to the 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the country, and developed “true” citizen-driven community policing.
Instead, discussion of policing has been either “too timid and too fearful,” or plain inflammatory, he said, as Trump has seized on the fears and frustrations of officers who have responded with vitriol to increased scrutiny of their profession. Stamper noted, for instance, that in the newsletters he receives daily from various police groups, activists for police accountability are invariably referred to as “BLM thugs.”
“That’s so demoralizing for those of us who are interested in progressive policing and helping cops understand what’s in it for them in treating everyone with dignity and respect,” he said.
A Slap in the Face for Black Cops
In fact, if the FOP’s endorsement of Trump has angered anyone, it’s not so much activists as black, Latino, and Muslim officers across the country, for whom Trump’s candidacy embodies not only a flawed approach to policing, but also a much broader problem with racism.
In Cleveland, for instance, a largely black and democratic city, the police union’s endorsement of Trump is bound to “further polarize us and the community and cause more problems,” said Lynn Hampton, president of the Black Shield union, which represents African-American officers. “You’re giving police more authority to operate on their biases,” he said, before warning, ahead of the announcement, “When the endorsement vote does come down, just know it’s not the sentiments of a lot of police officers on the force.”
That sentiment was echoed by black law enforcement officers across the country.
“The FOP endorsement is a slap in the face to both black cops and the black community,” said Damon Jones, the New York representative of Blacks in Law Enforcement in America, one of a number of black law enforcement associations that have condemned the Trump endorsement. “A lot of black officers disagree.”
A police officer watches as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally on April 23, 2016, in Waterbury, Connecticut.
Photo: John Moore/Getty Images
Jones, a corrections officer, said that Trump’s nostalgia for Reagan-era “tough on crime” rhetoric is “dangerous,” and the racist atmosphere his candidacy has helped fuel is already doing damage. At the Westchester county jail where Jones works, for example, a white officer was recently suspended after posting a series of racist messages on social media, mocking the Black Lives Matter movement.
“Now everybody’s able to see what black law enforcement officers have been saying since we’ve been in this institution, that it’s based on racism,” Jones told The Intercept. Trump built on resentment among officers that was already on the rise in recent years, he acknowledged, but he’s polarized the issue even further.
“What Donald Trump has raised up with is candidacy is something that’s going to last and we are going to have to deal with long beyond this election,” he said. “People are now emboldened to attack other people because of their race, or show a racial bias that was silent and now they’re bold enough to share.”
Jones added that while police unions don’t speak for the departments themselves, they represent a large number of their members. He also noted that many of the officers endorsing Trump are closely aligned with the NRA — which also endorsed him, and whose pro-gun advocacy is damaging to both public safety and black communities.
But while slamming his colleagues’ endorsement of Trump, Jones was no less critical of the alternative. “The Clintons established the base for the mass incarceration we see in America today, a lot of black people haven’t forgotten that,” he said. “But against Trump she’s an angel now, because that’s what we’ve got to choose from at this point.”
“Will she make the necessary changes after her husband laid the foundations to disrupt the black family and the black community? I really don’t know,” he added. “But right now, the only thing is no Trump.”
Claims vs. Facts
Trump’s endorsement by the two leading immigration enforcement unions in the country was also unsurprising, even though neither group had endorsed a presidential candidate before. But those endorsements suggest that immigration reform, like police reform, will continue to be a hard sell for many of the nation’s law enforcement officers.
Shawn Moran, vice president of the National Border Patrol Council, said his group’s endorsement was “really no brainer.”
“He was the only candidate that was talking about taking a stronger stance on border security,” he told The Intercept, criticizing what he saw as liberal asylum policies, including for the thousands of children and families that crossed the border in recent years. “We just see more and more areas of immigration law not being enforced and basically being carved out to the point that our agents feel like they’re glorified greeters, as the vast majority of people they encounter are released into the country.”
A Border Patrol agent looks out at the Rio Grand on April 14, 2016, in Roma, Texas.
Photo: John Moore/Getty Images
But that claim — like many of Trump’s own — is simply not true. Illegal immigration continues to decline, and Border Patrol agents apprehended 337,117 people in fiscal year 2015, according to the agency’s own numbers — down 30 percent from the previous year. At the same time, officers turned back 225,342 inadmissible individuals from ports of entry and arrested another 8,246 wanted for serious crimes. In total, the Department of Homeland Security reported 406,595 apprehensions for immigration violations that year, with 462,463 removals and returns.
Criminal prosecutions for illegal entry are up 182 percent from 10 years ago. As for asylum seekers, the U.S. is bound by international law to review their cases.
“The U.S. has obligations under international treaties to ensure people with valid claims are able to seek refuge,” Grace Meng, a Human Rights Watch senior researcher focusing on immigration issues, told The Intercept. “It’s really unfortunate that Border Patrol thinks its job is to deport people. Its job is to enforce U.S. immigration laws.”
Trump has made some pretty boisterous claims on how to secure the border — and how to pay for that — but he has also been inconsistent on his stance on immigration. But the Border Patrol union dismissed those concerns. “Mr. Trump is correct when he says immigration wouldn’t be at the forefront of this presidential campaign if months ago he hadn’t made some bold and necessary statements,” the union said in a brash statement that at times felt like it was written by the candidate himself. “When the withering media storm ensued, he did not back down one iota.”
Moran said that Trump’s repeated offenses directed at the Latino community “haven’t been an issue” for the union, even though some 52 percent of Border Patrol agents are Latino, as are many in the communities they patrol. In fact, the council has faced criticism even from within the agency’s decidedly conservative ranks. In El Paso, for instance, the union’s local chapter narrowly failed to disavow the national endorsement. “One of the reasons that El Paso is the safest city in the United States is because of the trust developed between law enforcement and the El Paso community,” a group of local agents wrote in a statement. “This trust is undermined by the endorsement of a candidate for president who demeans and degrades immigrants.”
The endorsement was also harshly criticized by immigration advocates and some border residents. “Border Patrol’s excess and tactics have transformed our communities into theaters of war,” Astrid Dominguez, an advocacy coordinator with the ACLU of Texas, wrote in a scathing response to the council’s statement, refuting several of their claims.
A U.S. Border Patrol agent speaks with fellow agents near a section of the U.S.-Mexico border fence on April 10, 2013, in La Joya, Texas.
Photo: John Moore/Getty Images
Dominguez referenced the Border Patrol’s history of misconduct, excessive force, and corruption — which earned it a reputation as the “most out-of-control law enforcement agency” in the country — and cited a former head of the agency’s internal affairs operations who found that thousands of its own agents were “potentially unfit” to serve. Dominguez also criticized the immigration record of President Obama — whom the Border Patrol union essentially accused of “betraying this country” — by recalling the record number of deportations under his watch and the massive jump in Border Patrol funding that continued under his administration.
Moran dismissed that criticism and cited statistics claiming that Border Patrol agents resort to deadly force “seven percent less” than other agencies. “It is an extremely rare event for a police officer in this country to shoot and kill someone,” he said. “It’s going to be seven times more rare that it’s going to be a Border Patrol agent.”
At least 46 people have died in encounters with Border Patrol agents since 2010, and many more have been brutalized. And while that’s undoubtedly far fewer than the 824 people killed by police in 2016 alone, it’s hardly an achievement to boast about. If anything, it’s further testimony to the depth of the disconnect that divides the country on law enforcement issues — a divide this election is not promising to close.
Top photo: A mounted officer watches as a crowd of supporters of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump line up outside the Budweiser Events center in Loveland, Colorado, on Oct. 3, 2016.
Shawn Moron is a bald face liar. I, an American, just recently crossed the border in Arizona. There are border patrols and checkpoints everywhere. Not to mention high end technology that can see what you’re carrying in your vehicle, takes facial recognition photo’s of anyone that’s in the vehicle, tracks and spys on your cellular device(s), and then once back in the US subjects you to even more checkpoints. Mr. Moron, and yes, Mr. Frump really need to get out more. They, and any like-minded Americans, really need to roll up their sleeve’s and go see for themselves what’s going on at border crossings. Instead they don’t fact check anything. This is the most embarrassing Presidential Election that I’ve ever witnessed. The World is laughing their asses off.
Hmm. Moran in the second to last paragraph states that ‘Border Patrol agents resort to deadly force “seven percent less” than other agencies’ only later to say ‘It’s going to be seven times more rare that it’s going to be a Border Patrol agent.”’ I haven’t done algebra in awhile but I get:
x – 7 = x / 7
Solving for ‘x’ yields 8.166667, i.e., according to him the percentage rate at which the other agencies kill someone. It seems the Attorney General and FBI do not keep such statistics but The Guardian indicates the US police and other law enforcement agencies collectively killed 1140 people in 2015. This means the rate of death must be much, much, much lower than 1% of all encounters. Now subtract 7% and what he’s saying is that Border Patrol agents bring more than 6% of all people in encounters back from the dead. Amazing.
Of course the Police support someone who wants to create a Police State.
But let me guess, these people also think Government is too big.
The Right Wing of this country really do have their heads up their A.
For some reason this article makes me think about Armageddon.
build>>use>>enjoy>>maintain>>use>>enjoy….
wallstreet – with their criminal currency scheme of LOAN TO OWN, has Americans trapped into “build”. The build trap has Americans taking time away from free and clear to enjoy. The consequence of this trap is the zeal of Hellary – a supporter of murder and occupation of Palestine by israeli trespassers – to allow the US to become occupied by others which scenario of illegal occupation dovetails into the also unlegal trap of having to build.
If you cannot see this then you are like a fish in a barrel. The world is overpopulated as it is and it is killing us. You will notice that even the ufo’s dont stop by any more. You would have to be dumb enuf to believe that 100,000,000 could occupy fiji island to call me wrong. DO THE MATH.
“RICH LIVES MATTER”
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/08/18/30-million-illegal-immigrants-in-us-says-mexicos-former-ambassador/
30 Million Illegal Immigrants in US, Says Mexico’s Former Ambassador on MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.com/andrea-mitchell-reports/watch/backlash-grows-over-trump-s-immigration-plan-507691587765
“The former ambassador stated,” If you were to deport the 30 million undocumented immigrants in the United States that’s going to cost you about 130 billion dollars.”
That’s $4333 each. So when you count up the $1500 each per year in food stamps plus the $4000 each per year sent out of the country, that’s already a net savings to the economy right there.
http://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/latino/edgard-portela/2016/02/25/fiesta-new-wave-mexican-immigrants-univision
Fiesta for New ‘Wave’ of Mexican Immigrants on Univision
http://www.mrctv.org/videos/fiesta-new-wave-mexican-immigrants-univision
“Despite official statistics showing immigration from Mexico is down in recent years, Univision has found an apparent exception in the case of immigrants from the Mexican state of Puebla.
ORLANDO SEGURA, UNIVISION: During the last 30 years three migrant waves of Pueblans to New York have existed. The first was in the 80’s, benefitting from the amnesty of Ronald Reagan. The second, during the economic boom of the presidency of Bill Clinton. The third, we are living through right now.”
According to a recent DHS report the number of unaccompanied alien children (UACs) coming across the border has doubled and the number of family units has tripled in fiscal year 2016 compared to the same time frame in fiscal year 2015.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-border-patrol-migrants-20160424-story.html
Border Patrol sees increase in number of migrants being detained at Mexico border
“The number of family members caught crossing illegally has nearly tripled compared with this time last year, and the number of unaccompanied children has almost doubled, the figures show.”
http://www.cbp.gov/site-page/southwest-border-unaccompanied-alien-children-statistics-fy-2016
“The number of unaccompanied alien children (0-17 years old) that were apprehend between October 1- January 31 has doubled from 10,105 in 2015 to 20,455 in 2016. The number of family units apprehended in the same time period has almost tripled from 9,090 in 2015 to 24,616 in 2016.”
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/social-affairs/20151125/thousands-of-unaccompanied-children-crossed-us-mexico-border-in-october
Thousands of unaccompanied children crossed US-Mexico border in October
http://www.latintimes.com/us-border-arrests-immigrant-children-and-families-increased-52-percent-august-342201
US Border Arrests Of Immigrant Children And Families Increased 52 Percent in August
“According to statistics released by the U.S. Border Patrol nearly 10,000 unaccompanied minors and families were arrested in the month of August, a 52 percent jump from last year.”
http://www.ibtimes.com/immigration-reform-2015-immigrant-families-surging-again-us-border-homeland-security-2043891
Immigration Reform 2015: Immigrant Families Surging Again At US Border, Homeland Security Says
“Federal border officials might have spoken too soon when they predicted earlier this year that the level of illegal immigration to the U.S. among mothers and children would decrease. There was actually a surge of immigrant families crossing U.S. borders last month [July 2015], a top Department of Homeland Security official told a federal court Thursday.”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/oct/21/surge-illegal-children-families-accelerates/?page=1
Surge of illegal children, families accelerates 10,000 caught at border in September
“The surge of children and families crossing the southwest border illegally accelerated again in September, leaving fiscal year 2015 the second-worst on record, according to numbers released Wednesday by the Border Patrol.”
http://www.hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/ongoing-migration-from-central-america-an-examination-of-fy2015-apprehensions
Ongoing Migration from Central America: An Examination of FY2015 Apprehensions
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/sep/9/20-pct-illegals-caught-border-have-criminal-record/
Agents say just 40 percent of U.S.-Mexico border under control
20 percent of illegals caught at border have criminal records
“Less than half of the U.S.-Mexico border is under “operational control,” and one out of every five illegal immigrants caught there has a criminal record, the chief of Border Patrol agents’ labor union told Congress Wednesday when detailing violence that increasingly spills over the international boundary.”
“ICE Director Saldaña Admits Dramatic Decline in Criminal Alien Deportations
Testifying last week before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing focused on the Obama administration’s lax interior enforcement policies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Sarah Saldaña admitted a dramatic decline in criminal alien deportations. ….Sessions was not satisfied, noting that her agency’s budget for deportation was increased from $2.6 billion in 2011 to $3.4 billion this year, and that the government even returned part of that allotment. (Id.) Summing up the hearing, Sessions said the decline in removals “demonstrated the failure of our system, when the one area that we were promised was going to be aggressively pursued was criminal aliens, and that is plummeting also. So there’s nothing really working effectively.”
http://www.c-span.org/video/?401468-1/hearing-unaccompanied-immigrant-children-sponsor-background-checks
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/06/04/criminal-immigrants-reoffend-higher-rates-than-ice-has-suggested/l0OpCWfTdCuTNLIAfxApAO/story.html
Criminal immigrants reoffend at higher rates than ICE has suggested
https://judiciary.house.gov/press-release/goodlatte-administrations-record-releasing-criminal-aliens-gone-bad-worse/
Goodlatte: Administration’s Record of Releasing Criminal Aliens Has Gone from Bad to Worse
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obamas-budget-would-stop-reimbursing-prisons-for-holding-illegal-immigrants/2016/02/10/ce706b06-cf75-11e5-88cd-753e80cd29ad_story.html
Obama’s Budget Would Stop Reimbursing Prisons For Holding (Convicted) Illegal Immigrants
NOTE & WARNING: The links provided below contain direct quotes from Obama and his officials.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/jun/16/obama-amnesty-extends-businesses-hire-illegals/
Obama gives free pass to businesses that hire illegals
Audits, fines drop for employers
“President Obama took office vowing to go after unscrupulous employers who hire illegal immigrants, but worksite audits have plunged over the last year and a half, according to a report released Tuesday by the Center for Immigration Studies, tumbling along with the rest of immigration enforcement.”
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-obama-deportations-20140402,0,545192,full.story#axzz2xkzioeHR
The Left-Leaning LA Times posted an article that shows that the Obama administration, the Illegal Alien lobby, and the major media outlets have been in collusion to depict the “high” deportation numbers. The exact opposite is true since the beginning of the current President’s policy. Interior deportation has and will be lower than 1973 rates. This is leading towards more people overstaying their visas and currently, more Illegal Alien minors crossing the border. Obama has just recently instructed border patrol to not turn back those Illegal Aliens on record as having entered illegally as priors, but to let them pass IF they don’t have a major criminal record. After the first Illegal Entry, it is a felony each time thereafter.
Even Obama in 2011, called the deportation numbers deceptive when talking to Hispanic voters. President Obama said statistics that show his administration is on track to deport more illegal immigrants than the Bush administration are misleading.
“The statistics are a little deceptive,” he said Wednesday in an online discussion aimed at Hispanic voters.”
“If you are a run-of-the-mill immigrant here illegally, your odds of getting deported are close to zero — it’s just highly unlikely to happen,” John Sandweg, until recently the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement
http://thehill.com/policy/technology/184393-obama-calls-for-pathway-to-citizenship-in-online-talk
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/mar/12/deportations-come-mostly-from-border-dhs-chief-say/?page=1
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/346043/cooking-boo
http://www.ibtimes.com/immigration-reform-2015-obamas-priority-enforcement-program-protects-87-percent-2021453
Immigration Reform 2015: Obama’s Priority Enforcement Program Protects 87 Percent Of Undocumented Immigrants, Report Finds
“The refocus in law enforcement efforts has effectively protected 9.6 million of the United States’ estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants from deportation, the report found. In all, a full implementation of Obama’s changes would reduce annual deportations to approximately 25,000…”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/apr/13/immigration-chief-sanctuary-cities-influx-kids/
“The federal government’s chief deportation agency has seen its success plummet under President Obama, and its chief, Sarah R. Saldana, will tell Congress on Tuesday that they’ve had trouble adapting to the changing face of illegal immigration and a lack of cooperation from both American cities and from foreign countries.
Ms. Saldana, director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), says in testimony prepared for the House Judiciary Committee that the dramatic drop in deportations is a reflection of a trickier set of circumstances and pressures from all sides.
She said she had to pull agents off their regular duties during last summer’s illegal immigrant surge at the border, which meant fewer people focusing on deporting the longtime illegal immigrants living in the interior of the U.S. And she said the lack of cooperation from states, counties and cities when agents ask them to hold an illegal immigrant for pickup has also hindered efforts.”
Here’s what Law Enforcement really think of Obama’s “Priorities” of deporting Illegal Aliens Criminals:
http://www.sheriffs.org/sites/default/files/uploads/documents/GovAffairs/NSA%20CIR%202013%20FINAL.pdf
National Sheriffs’ Association Position Paper on Comprehensive Immigration Reform
The National Sheriffs’ Association’s press release reaffirmed organization’s stance articulated in its 2013 position paper on immigration policy. (Id.)In the paper, the Association advocated for effective and efficient securing of the border, enforcement of the immigration laws currently on the books, requiring information sharing between local law enforcement and federal immigration officials, withholding federal reimbursement money from jurisdictions who refuse to cooperate with immigration officials, and strengthening employer verification requirements, among other things. (National Sheriff’s Association, Jun. 25, 2013) The paper concluded, “The National Sheriffs’ Association strongly opposes outright amnesty for those individuals currently here illegally. Amnesty does not work. When granted in 1986, it did little to stop the flow of illegal individuals from coming across the borders and, in fact, contributed to thousands of fraudulent applications for amnesty.”
http://c3.nrostatic.com/sites/default/files/SheriffsAgainstAmnesty.pdf
Bristol County, Massachusetts Sheriff Thomas M. Hodgson
“No longer can we sit idle while the inaction of our Federal Government marginalizes our ability to preserve public safety, enforce our laws, and protect the Constitutional rights of all who legitimately reside and work in our communities.”
http://www.kcra.com/news/local-news/news-sacramento/sacramento-sheriff-criticizes-obama-on-immigration/29851418
Sacramento sheriff criticizes Obama on immigration
“Jones vowed to crusade against illegal immigration after the shooting rampage last month by a Mexican man with a long criminal history who was in the country illegally.”
http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2015/07/03/breaking-pier-14-murder-suspect-had-been-deported-5-times-with-7-felonies/
BREAKING: Pier 14 Murder Suspect Had Been Deported 5 Times with 7 Felonies
“Five-time deportee and seven-time convicted felon Francisco Sanchez has been jailed on suspicion of shooting and killing 31-year-old Kathryn Steinle Wednesday evening while taking photos with her father at Pier 14 in San Francisco, California. Sanchez was freed after the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department refused to honor a request by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain him, following a policy adopted in 2014. He was arrested soon after the shooting.”
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2015/03/20/by-the-way-ice-just-released-thousands-more-violent-criminal-illegal-aliens-onto-american-streets-n1973552?utm_source=TopBreakingNewsCarousel&utm_medium=story&utm_campaign=BreakingNewsCarousel
By The Way, Ice Just Release 30,558 More Violent Criminal Illegal Aliens Onto American Streets
http://cis.org/ICE-Document-Details-36000-Criminal-Aliens-Release-in-2013
ICE Document Details 36,000 Criminal Alien Releases in 2013
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/10/22/immigration-detainees-released-criminal-records/17714925/
U.S. misinformed Congress, public on immigrant release
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/202142-dhs-document-68000-illegal-immigrants-with-criminal-convictions-released-in
DHS document: 68,000 illegal immigrants with criminal convictions released in 2013
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/10/17/thousands-of-illegal-immigrants-released-including-3000-with-felony-charges-or-convictions/
Thousands of Illegal Immigrants Released — Including 3,000 With Felony Charges or Convictions
http://www.trentonian.com/20160301/neese-immigration-unmentionables
Gives one pause:
“There he goes again, the blabbermouth nativist, Donald Trump, the wall-building xenophobe.
“We have a massive poverty population coming into our country virtually every day from Mexico,” whines the guy who vows to build “a beautiful wall” along the southern border.
Oops. Beg your pardon. Misread our notes. Those actually were the words of Walter Mondale, Democratic senator, Vice President, presidential candidate, Minnesota progressive, speaking in the early 1970s.”
And, so on…..
now that America has been over-run a the rate of 1,000,000 illegal settlements a year since 1975 Hellary Clinton has decided that being beaten into submission is a good thing. Translation? “Palestinians, accept your genocide.” This twisted mentality of hers is also known as duplicitous, hypocritical, insane, devious, and condescending.
We need a wall.
let’s build it around you
…AND you pulled this out from…where? I searched for that statement…couldn’t find it.
The Liberal Case AGAINST Illegal Immigration:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/11/25/the-liberal-case-against-illegal-immigration.html
This is the Progressive Case AGAINST Illegal Immigration:
http://www.salon.com/2015/03/01/the_1_percents_immigration_con_how_big_business_adds_to_income_inequality_pits_workers_against_each_other/
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2006/03/27/notes-on-immigration/
The Conscience Of A Liberal–Paul Krugman
“First, the benefits of immigration to the population already here are small.
” But as Mr. Hanson explains in his paper, reasonable calculations suggest that we’re talking about very small numbers, perhaps as little as 0.1 percent of GDP.
“My second negative point is that immigration reduces the wages of domestic workers who compete with immigrants. That’s just supply and demand…
“Finally, the fiscal burden of low-wage immigrants is also pretty clear. ”
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990DEFDC1430F934A15750C0A9609C8B63
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/immigrants-different-audacity-hope/2014/11/17/id/607937/
Report: Obama’s Book Says Illegals Can Hurt Americans
http://beforeitsnews.com/opinion-conservative/2014/11/didnt-anyone-in-the-hispanic-media-read-obamas-book-2936030.html
Didn’t anyone in the Hispanic media read Obama’s book? Or listen to when he speaks?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idvRtDDPl_4
Barack Obama in his own words from “The Audacity of Hope”
– Illegal Immigration hurts Black Americans and Blue Collared Workers
Video Not Working? I wonder why?!? Here’s an Audio Link:
http://dailycaller.com/2014/11/16/shock-flashback-obama-says-illegal-immigration-hurts-blue-collar-americans-strains-welfare-video/
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/24/us/politics/hillary-clinton-is-not-my-abuela-critics-say.html?_r=0
Hillary Clinton Is ‘Not My Abuela,’ Critics Say
Here’s a list of recent past of Hillary’s hostilities towards Illegal Aliens:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2015/07/08/jeb-bush-and-hillary-clinton-accuse-each-other-of-flip-flopping-on-immigration-and-theyre-both-right/
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2016/03/11/how-hillary-clinton-and-bernie-sanders-used-to-talk-about-immigration-laws/#comment-10965399
How Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders Used to Talk About Immigration Laws
If Trump didn’t exist, why he would have been invented:
https://pjmedia.com/victordavishanson/illegal-immigration-finally-turned-off-public/?singlepage=true
How Illegal Immigration Finally Turned Off the Public
“Why did the illegal-immigration issue launch Donald Trump’s campaign? Why did his recent tense press conference exchange with Univision’s Jorge Ramos please even some of Trump’s liberal critics? What is it about illegal immigration that has finally turned off so many Americans?”
It’s always interesting how MSM, special interest groups, and the Dems continue to conflate LEGAL Immigration with ILLEGAL Aliens. Trump speaks about ILLEGAL Aliens:
https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions/immigration-reform
Trump outlines ways to fund his points: stop sending funds to Mexico, a tariff on trade, a tax on money transfers, etc. The USA can find ways to get this done. Not mentioned what Illegal Aliens cost us now and will cost us in the future:
http://patch.com/california/benicia/what-if-20-million-illegal-aliens-just-departed
What if 20 Million Illegal Aliens “Just Departed”
Um, A LOT would happen!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2015/02/27/opposition-to-immigration-reform-is-a-winning-strategy-for-republicans/
“By any measure, fears of (Illegal) immigration are driving many white Americans to the Republican Party. And, indeed, the Republican strategy on immigration appears to have been successful. Republicans now control the House and the Senate, the governor’s office in 31 states, and two-thirds of the state legislatures. They are winning the political war.”
“An even bigger factor is that the ties of racial and ethnic minorities to the Democratic Party are tenuous. Research by Taeku Lee and myself shows that most Latinos and Asian Americans don’t feel like they fit into either party. In national surveys, those who refuse to answer a question about party identification, those who claim that they do not think in partisan terms, and independents make up the clear majority of both groups. All told, 56 percent of Latinos and 57 percent of Asian-American identify as nonpartisans.
Even among blacks, there are signs of ambivalence. Almost 30 percent of blacks feel
that the Democratic Party does not work hard for black interests.”
http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20151016_As_Trump_fades__be_smart_about_immigration.html#disqus_thread
“Most Hispanics aren’t single-issue voters when it comes to immigration. A recent Gallup poll found that among registered Latino voters, 67 percent are at least willing to support a candidate who doesn’t share their views on immigration. And 18 percent don’t consider the issue important at all.
What’s more, many Hispanic citizens have little sympathy for immigrants who haven’t played by the rules. Especially among Latino voters born in the United States, resentment of immigrants who have entered the country illegally can run deep. Forty-two percent of American-born Hispanics disapprove of President Obama’s executive actions to prevent the deportation of illegal immigrants.”
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/12/no-joke-trump-can-win-plenty-of-latinos.html
Reuben Navarette: No Joke: Trump Can Win Plenty of Latinos
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/connorhoffman/2016/07/18/conservative-hispanic-leaders-poised-to-endorse-trump-n2194143
Conservative Hispanic Leaders Poised To Endorse Trump
Gee, No wonder why I fall into the Proud Independent group.
stop-and-frisk is a bad thing but
a solution is needed to gangs-that-kill
employment
free-and-clear
stop-and-watch
one child per couple
i would enact a law that states, if you have a child by a woman, you are automatically married to her. And being married to more than one woman is cause for….?
Trump himself is a criminal, of the 1 Percent variety who almost always get away with their crimes. He owes law enforcement a debt of gratitude for looking the other way.
imperceptibly inaccurate
Nice quote from Norm Stamper. “He does not know what he’s talking about, the man does not know police work,” and then in the next line he claims that stop and frisk is unconstitutional even though SCOTUS has repeatedly affirmed that Terry stops are constitutional for almost 50 years now. Pretty irresponsible for a former police chief to be spreading that lie.
Stop and frisk was found to violate the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments because it was applied in a racially disproportionate manner. It’s not the same as a legal Terry stop that requires a reasonable suspicion based on specific and articulable facts, none of which should concern someone’s race in any capacity. Terry stops are legal. Stop and frisk is what happens when you don’t use a proper Terry stop.
I wouldn’t expect anything less from US police unions than a Trump endorsement. These are the same people who consistently attempt to rationalize police brutality and murder.
Trump is not giving police who kill a free pass. “What was she (key word now) thinking”. Donald thinks. Hellary schemes.
I know it’s shallow and flippant but it kept recurring in my flippant little mind while reading:
Alice Speri is providing the best coverage of the police-“justice”-prison industrial complex that can be found anywhere in American media.
And she’s a damned fine writer.
She’s a treasure.
How would it surprise anyone if ICE actually did endorse Drumpf for prez?
Their agents have been known to have mistreated illegals, and been known to have been corrupt. Where’s the surprise? If anyone would be in a position to know that a majority of those fleeing the violence and poverty of central America were not “rapists, drug dealers, and criminals” it would be ICE agents. It would be fitting that their union would endorse a bigot for president.
Drumpf’s VP choice shouldn’t have been Pence, it should have been the bigot from Iowa -Rep Steven King.
Writing a fantastically detailed and factual article, as Alice has done, does not denote that the writer, or her readers, is or are ‘surprised’ by the information. There’s a whole lot of excellent research, and resulting information, in this article to take in and digest. Wondering if people are ‘surprised’ by it is about as cliche of a comment about it as a grocery store cashier’s “How has your day been so far” greeting.
Thank you Alice for your well written review. In response to BLM and tragedies involving police being killed, I have noticed the desecration of the US flag in the form of a Black and White with Blue stripe flag.
My reaction to a neighbor prominently deploying one was visceral, jarring.
It seems to me a racist, white-originating reaction to the BLM movement and affirmation of authoritarian sympathies for police ‘protection’ that “separates them from the other, criminal elements”
It’s no longer acceptable to fly the stars and bars in many locations, but the racists now have a new flag.
“Stoking Divide–Cops Adopt Own Version of U.S. Flag–By the Police State, For the Police State”
http://thefreethoughtproject.com/blackened-u-s-flag-memorial-fallen-officers-disrespectful-police-state-propaganda/
the insanity of the wallstreet growth obsession is pushing the planet – our home – over the cliff. Our single biggest challenge is climate change CAUSED by population overgrowth – which i believe Trump is aware of – which growth is perpetrated by wallstreet and their conjob currency.
weeds.